New Dreams and Fowl Deeds
by Ressick
Summary: Set in the vaguely near future, Callie has a surprise for her wife. Very mild spoilers for 9x04.


A/N: Set sometime in the near future during late summer/early fall; written post 9x04. Thank you to the folks in the callie_arizona discussion thread thereof, and the chat room, for your thoughts and ideas, because a bunch of us agree on a couple things seen in this fic.

X-X-X-X

_There'll be new dreams maybe better dreams and plenty_  
_Before the last revolving year is through _- Joni Mitchell

The house was everything they'd dreamed of, the one part of their future both of them could see easily, early on in their relationship. Somehow the one they'd found and quickly bought lived up to both their expectations. It was large, and full of light even in rainy Seattle. There was a wraparound porch, complete with swing. The open kitchen was large and well-appointed, with modern stainless steel appliances and a dining table edging into the living area. The master bed and spacious bath were on the ground level, making life easier for Arizona at the end of long days. There was a second generous bedroom on the first floor, perfect for Sofia, and two more up the wide stairway. Outside, the house was on nearly four acres of land, setting them back slightly from the quiet road that slid between suburban and nearly rural and it was in fact a house they stumbled across on the way home from a play date for Sofia at Meredith and Derek's.

Arizona had made lists of requirements for what they wanted in a house before they even started looking. She'd scheduled several afternoons with a real estate agent to visit houses for sale. And they'd both decided to throw those plans out the window when they drove by the light blue house with a for-sale sign out front and a profusion of flowers lining the path from the door to the road. They'd pulled over, called the real estate agent listed on the sign, seen it the next day. And fallen in love. It met their needs, had room to spare, and while a little farther from the hospital than they planned, it was doable. Within a month, they'd closed the sale.

Things were not perfect between the couple. Not yet. Arizona was back at work part time, doing consults and paperwork, helping Karev and Bailey wrest control of Peds away from Barnett. Frustration built over her lack of OR time, but she was otherwise well on the road to adapting to her new physical challenges. Her relationship with her wife was also well on the mend. Talking, occasional of the stilted variety, had replaced cold silence and angry shouts. But they had agreed on buying the house. Callie had sold Mark's furniture and added it to the money already in trust for Sofia's college expenses months before, handing over the keys to his place to a nice dermatologist from the hospital, but they were still across the hall from somewhere Callie had run to far too often during their relationship, and there were enough bad memories in their own apartment to warrant a fresh start. So they packed, labeled boxes, and let movers facilitate a new stage of their life together.

Callie looked around her house. Less than a month in and she could almost feel how a new start had relaxed things in their home. They'd given several pieces of furniture to Cristina, who had decided on getting herself a new apartment instead of continuing to stay with Meredith and Derek, so they no longer had a couch where they had sat, carefully distant, watching American Bake-Off, or where Arizona had said "This is not my dream" to her pregnant girlfriend, or where they had broken up the first time over babies, nor did they have the coffee table where Callie sat talking about mighty oaks and begging Arizona to be "all in" despite her not-girlfriend's understandable rage.

Instead, they had new couches, a new coffee table, with a few pieces held over – like their tree trunk end table. The room was warm and homey, a true mix of Easter Basket and Edgy like the apartment had never quite managed. In short, it was them, as a couple, instead of Callie and Arizona mushed together haphazardly. And Sofia of course. She had left a toy or sippy cup here and there around the house, despite her mommy's anal-retentive attempts to pick up after the three year old _and_ lessons on how to pick up after herself.

Though instead of a day spent with Sofia, Callie had dropped off their daughter with Zola and Cristina, while Derek was at Lowe's getting the last few pieces they'd need for their secret project. Callie slid on her old, battered work boots, tied a bandana over her hair, and grabbed the toolkit. Her occasional afternoon or evening at Derek's with the kids had, over the past few months, turned into a large woodshop project for the two of them. They'd kept one eye on the two girls and the other on the tools they were using. And thanks to Owen's truck, the fruits of their labor would shortly arrive at the house so that they could spend the day setting things up permanently while Karev distracted Arizona at work.

Five hours later, the very slightly lopsided chicken coop rested carefully and securely on a combination of cedar posts and cinder blocks, safely off the ground. It had arrived in the pieces she and Derek had built – roof, sides, floor, nesting boxes – and they'd spent the day assembling it. Many pre-constructed chicken coops required bending over in a tight space, which was not something Arizona could manage all that easily sometimes. So instead, they'd built a roomy shed, complete with nesting boxes and one wide window, that also sported a small solar panel which powered a light bulb and could be expanded to power a fan and/or small heater if it became necessary. It was like the Taj Mahal of chicken coops, and easy for Arizona to access, with just one step up.

After Derek left, she surveyed their work. It was painted a bright red, with a dark, sharply sloped roof and white trim. The window was a leftover from Derek's house, complete with screening for the summertime bugs and there was a sliding door to let the birds out into the yard, once they'd fenced it in. Grabbing a shower, she had just enough time to scrub herself clean of sawdust and sweat, pick up Sofia from her godmother's, then get to the hospital in time to head off Karev giving Arizona a ride home.

X-X-X-X

She texted Alex after settling Sofia into her car seat. _Mission accomplished. On my way. Distract her for ten?_

He replied almost instantly, _She's charting. You got time._

Pulling into the employee parking area's disabled spot, she hung the handicap card from the rearview, and grabbed her daughter to head into the hospital.

The peds floor was mostly quiet when she arrived, just the soft murmurs of televisions, nurses, and families. It was that late afternoon lull, before the chaos of dinner. Sofia in her arms, she made her way to Arizona's office. "Hey, beautiful," she said, knocking on the doorframe.

Sofia was much more vocal. "Mommy!"

Tired blue eyes brightened when they spotted wife and child at the door. "Hey, pretty ladies. What are you doing here?"

"Sa-prise!" Sofia understood very little of what her mama had planned, but the surprise bit was something she could grasp.

A blond eyebrow climbed Arizona's forehead. "A surprise, huh? There's no birthday shenanigans planned, are there? Because mine's not for a couple months."

Callie smirked, "No, definitely not. But there is a surprise. If you're up for it?" She'd gotten fairly skilled at measuring her wife's energy levels, so she could see Arizona was wavering between just about enough power for her plans, and having to delay until tomorrow.

"Well, we wouldn't want Sofia to not see me get my surprise, now would we?" Arizona grinned, standing up carefully from behind her desk. She shrugged out of her lab coat that she wore over business casual clothes since she wasn't in the OR yet, and grabbed her purse. Moving slowly but surely over to the doorframe, she greeting Sofia with a big hug and kiss, and Callie with a quick peck. "Am I overdressed for this surprise?" she asked, glancing at Callie's clean jeans and simple tee under a jean jacket.

Callie let her eyes travel from comfortable sneakers up the pressed slacks that clung to strong thighs before lingering over the fitted blouse. "A little, but no one will mind," she replied, with a bit of a lecherous glance that made her wife lightly blush.

The little family walked through the ward together, Arizona waving to or exchanging greetings with several of her patients and nurses on the way out, giving last minute orders to a couple of interns. Once they reached the car, Callie turned over Sofia to her mother, Arizona deftly securing their daughter in the booster, and then climbing into the passenger seat herself. Callie removed the handicap tag, and checked that her whole family were belted in. "Ready?" she asked her wife.

"Sure. As long as this won't take too long. I had a couple of tough consults with Alex today," Arizona nodded, squeezing Callie's leg gently.

"Not too long. And I think the excitement will kick in soon enough," Callie replied, shifting the car into gear and back on the road. She moved them deftly through the afternoon traffic, out towards the less populated areas that surrounded urban Seattle. Soon, they came up on a large store and parking lot. Pulling in, Callie parked before turning to her wife. "John's Farming Supply Depot. Biggest store like this in the area."

Arizona just looked at her in confusion. "What are we doing here?"

"Well, as there's now a chicken coop in our backyard, I thought we'd get some chickens, some feed, and a water supply for them."

"You bought us a chicken coop?" Arizona said after a minute, flabbergasted.

"Um, no. Derek and I built one. In pieces. That we assembled today. It's all set, waiting for your chickens. I called ahead - this place has all the supplies, and they just had their last hatching of chicks go up for sale. Mostly heritage breeds, too, which I thought you'd like. So we get the supplies, we get the chickens, and settle them in their new home in our yard." Callie dug around in her oversized purse, and pulled out a battered and tabbed copy of _Corey's Chicken Manual_, and handed it to her wife. "Here, in case you want to refer to something. I marked the sections that list needed supplies and the breed descriptions."

Arizona took the book numbly. "Where in heck did you get this?" she asked, minding her language since their daughter was in the car.

"I used the order form in one of your issues of _Mother Earth News_ and sent it to myself at the hospital. I've got a couple other books stashed in my office right now." Callie grinned. "I have this idea about setting up the garden so the chickens can have access to different parts of it during different summers – rotate where they can wander and peck. It's supposed to be great for the plants."

"Yeah, chicken poop is a great fertilizer…" Arizona replied off-handedly as she thumbed through the obviously well-used book. She met her wife's eyes with a spark of wonder in her gaze, "Calliope? We're getting chickens?"

"We're getting chickens, Arizona. So come on. We'll grab a cart and get everything in one fell swoop," Callie replied. "Let me get Sofia out, and you find a cart."

They settled Sofia in the oversized shopping cart's child seat, buckling the wide-eyed little girl in as Arizona both pushed the cart and used it for support. It had been a long day, but for this she'd fight her body for the energy.

"Okay, so I figured get the basic stuff now, and we can come back later for anything else we realize we need. So feed, feed containers, and a water fountain. Sound good?" Callie asked tentatively.

"Yeah, yeah, that sounds good. And then chickens!" Arizona smiled, her dimples appearing.

Callie breathed out, relaxing fully, and smiled back. "Then chickens."

With Arizona pushing the cart, Callie was free to grab the twenty pound bag of starter feed, as well as a sealable barrel for it that was conveniently displayed nearby, and place them in the large cart. Then it was quiet debates over watering systems, and the food container. They bought small, simple ones for the beginning, as the chicks they were getting would be too small to reach the hanging feeders they both preferred. With all the most basic supplies loaded into the cart, Callie tracked down the nearest employee.

"Excuse me, can you tell me where the chicks are?"

"Of course, over at the far end of aisle seventeen," replied the woman stacking toasters.

"Thanks." Callie grinned, and headed back towards her wife. So far, this was going well. Arizona seemed actually excited, which wasn't as common as it used to be, and if Callie could keep that smile on her face, she'd count the day a success. And of course, she couldn't resist the pun of asking about chicks. She was at the store with her _wife_ after all.

"This way, babe," she said, finding Arizona and Sofia in the middle of a thumb war. "Aisle seventeen."

Arizona redirected their daughter's attention, and pulled around the cart to head the right way. "How many do we have room for?" she asked, almost bouncing.

"Ummm… well, maybe a dozen. But do we really need that many eggs?" Callie asked, glancing at her wife.

"We can always give the extra to our friends! You're right, though, that might be a few too many to start," Arizona mused, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.

"We'll figure it out," Callie said softly, setting her hand over Arizona's on the cart handle, squeezing gently before she let go.

Arizona smiled at her wife softly, "We always do."

"Yeah. Now, do we want all one breed, or a couple of each?" Callie asked, pointing at the large cages full of different kinds of chicks in front of them.

"Oooh!" Arizona was completely distracted by the tiny clucking birds in front of her, pointing them out to Sofia absently.

"Arizona," Callie said, broad smile edging across her face. Her wife was too cute. "Arizona, are you listening to me?"

Blue eyes swiveled to look at her. "Hmmm?"

"Do we want all one breed, or a couple of each?" Callie repeated herself.

"Variety is the spice of life, Calliope! But at least three per breed. Ooo.. I see the Red Sussex and the Barred Rocks… do they have any Dominiques?" Arizona started pushing the cart closer to the cages that hosted peeping chicks. There was perhaps a dozen varieties, far more than she had expected especially so late in the year, with a few heritage breeds. "How on earth do they have so many heritage breeds?" she mused offhandedly.

"The owner is a big fan of them, that's why. He's trying to up the popularity. It's all on their website," Callie replied.

"Well then we should help, don't you think? Three each? Red Sussex, Barred Rock, Dominiques?"

Callie looked at the different cages. "That's a lot of black and white for you," she remarked.

"They're edgy," Arizona grinned. "Want to grab an employee? We have to get these girls home before dark. Our little one, too." She smoothed down a drowsy Sofia's hair, dropping a kiss on a tiny forehead.

"Sure. Be right back."

An employee was quickly found, and nine little chicks placed into a cardboard animal carrier, tiny peeps and little faces peeking out the holes. By the time they got to the car, Sofia was asleep, leaning against her mommy's arm.

"Did she get a nap today? She's not usually out so early," Arizona asked as she carefully settled their daughter in the car seat.

"I don't know, she and Zola were with their godmother all day. Who knows what Cristina had them up to. Maybe they went to the mall?" Callie replied, having shoved their non-animal purchases into the back of their hybrid. "Do you want the chicks on your lap for the ride home?"

"Yay!"

Callie grinned. Exhaustion lined her wife's features, but there was a long-missed spark in blue eyes that made it all worth it. "C'mon, climb in, and I'll hand them to you."

The drive home was peppered with Arizona's quiet, excited words to the box of chickens in her lap, and Callie's giggles. Together they wrangled both chickens and child out of the car, chickens carefully deposited on the porch while they laid Sofia on her bed for a few minutes to sneak outside to the coop, setting up food and water and watching tiny birds wander around their new home for a few minutes before latching the door shut and heading inside for the night - dinner, bath and bed for Sofia, quiet time for mommies.

"Sometimes I'm not sure if you want to be a surgeon, or a farmer," Callie said, flopping next to her wife, whose head was buried in the chicken book, a legal pad on the arm of the couch so she could scribble notes. Sofia was asleep for the night, and Callie had changed into her pajamas and fluffy robe.

Arizona laughed, the sound free and happy, "Why not both? Didn't you tell Sofia she could be an astronaut and a baseball player last week?"

"She's three, Arizona. And you've already got the M.D. after your name." Callie threw an arm lazily along the back of the couch.

"Callie?" her voice was soft, hesitant.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for this. For the chickens." Arizona set down the book, and moved closer to her wife, snuggling them together.

"It's your dream, Arizona. I'll always give you as much of your dream as I can," Callie whispered reverently.

Arizona's breathing hitched, "You're my dream, Calliope. You and Sofia and our chickens and our other nine kids in our home. Forever."

End.


End file.
